UK PM says in talks over third country 'return hubs' for migrants
By
Camille Bouissou
with
Helen Rowe
in London, AFP
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Photo:
STEPHANIE LECOCQ / AFP
The UK is in talks with different countries about setting up "return hubs" for failed asylum seekers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said during a visit to Albania focused on immigration.
The UK leader is under pressure to reduce immigration and cut the number of irregular migrants arriving on UK shores, many in small boats, amid the rising popularity of the hard-right, anti-immigrant Reform Party.
"We are in talks with a number of countries about return hubs," Starmer told a joint news conference with his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.
But Rama made it clear that Albania, which has already reached a similar agreement with Italy, would not be involved.
Starmer insisted his Labour government had been left a "mess" by the previous Conservative leadership, which he said had failed to process asylum claims.
The prime minister's official spokesman said: "This will basically apply to people who have exhausted all legal routes to remain in the UK but are attempting to stall, using various tactics -- whether it's losing their paperwork or using other tactics to frustrate their removal."
Last July, Starmer's Labour government abandoned the Conservatives' scheme to deport undocumented migrants to Rwanda.
Rama said hosting a UK return hub in Albania was not on the table. An earlier deal made with Italy had been a "one-off", he said.
The scheme by Italy for Italian-run facilities to process migrants in Albania is currently bogged down in the courts.
"The model that we've brought to Albania in cooperation with Italy ... is a model that takes its time to be tested," said Rama.
"If it works, it can be replicated, but not in Albania, in other countries of the region."
Britain's opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch rejected Starmer's "return hubs" plan.
"Starmer is making an effort, but this will NOT stop the boats," she wrote on X.
"We left Labour a real deterrent. This is weaker than the Rwanda plan and won't work," she added.
The Refugee Council called the idea "inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public funds".
In March, the European Commission unveiled a planned reform of the 27-nation bloc's return system, opening the way for member states to set up migrant return centres outside the EU.
Earlier this week Starmer unveiled tough new immigration policies, setting off a storm of criticism when he warned the UK could become "an island of strangers."
The new policies include cutting the number of overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement in the country and new powers to deport foreign criminals.
The announcement was widely seen as a bid to fend off rising support for anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK party.
Labour vowed in its general election manifesto last year to significantly reduce net migration, which stood at 728,000 in the 12 months to last June.
It peaked at 906,000 in 2023 after averaging 200,000 for most of the 2010s.
In addition to high levels of legal migration, the UK has also seen unprecedented numbers of irregular migrants. And the numbers of asylum seekers has tripled to 84,200 in 2024, compared to 27,500 between 2010 and 2011.
More than 12,500 migrants have made the perilous Channel crossing so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on figures from the UK's interior ministry. They were mainly Afghans, Syrians and Iranians.
Under a 2002 deal, Albanians arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel can be sent back immediately.
Some 5294 Albanians were sent back in 2024, more than double the 2035 Albanian nationals returned two years earlier.
Starmer also announced an expansion of the Joint Migration Taskforce in the Western Balkans, set up with Albania and Kosovo, to include North Macedonia and Montenegro.
It would allow greater intelligence sharing to intercept smuggling gangs and deploy UK funded drones to snare criminals funnelling migrants through the Western Balkans to the UK.
-AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- RNZ News
Gas company urges political consensus on drilling for more fossil fuels
Flames on a gas stove. Photo: VIKTOR CAP / 123RF Investors will not be drawn to new gas field developments without broad political consensus, according to one of the country's few oil and gas companies. It comes as data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed the country's gas reserves were running out faster than previous expectations . Echelon Resources, formerly New Zealand Oil and Gas, said it supported the government's $200 million plan to co-invest in new gas fields , but called for greater political backing. Managing director Andrew Jefferies said New Zealand had gas prospectivity, but noted the nature of the industry meant the best wells were drilled first, and as basins matured, new drilling would have to occur in more difficult and more expensive wells. But he said as not all political parties were in favour of new gas exploration, it made it difficult for investors to commit long-term to ensure a return on investment. "As soon as you have political parties of any type saying 'well we're going to shut your industry down in the future', you just can't see that runway to invest now, to do the exploration, then to do the development and to produce the gas reserves," Jefferies said. New offshore oil and gas exploration was banned in 2018 under the Labour-New Zealand First coalition government, but the ban was reversed by the current National-New Zealand First-Act coalition. Last year, Labour said the reversal sent the country "backwards", while the Greens said the government was "tipping oil and gas onto the climate crisis fire". Jefferies said from an investment perspective, other countries offered better political consensus on gas. "In other jurisdictions, we're getting a very clear message that actually there won't be ideology that's driving the decisions as to what's the best fuel. We believe, and investors in the industry believe, that gas will be around for a while." Jefferies said if new gas fields were not developed, the country may have to start importing gas - which would require huge investment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
RNZ-Reid Research poll: Most New Zealanders don't think Trump's presidency been good for NZ
United States President Donald Trump. Photo: ANNA MONEYMAKER / Getty Images via AFP Just 8.9 percent of New Zealanders feel the second Donald Trump presidency has been good for New Zealand, according to the latest RNZ-Reid Research poll. Supporters of every political party in Parliament took a more negative view of the presidency than positive, though there are still many who are neutral on the man in the Oval Office. On a foreign policy front, Trump's second term has been dominated by the stop-start tariffs, as the US seeks to rebalance what it says has been an uneven trading playing field. New Zealand has not been immune from the tariffs , though whether they are as reciprocal as the White House says has been a source of frustration for the government. In the latest poll, 1008 respondents were asked: "US President Donald Trump has recently completed 100 days in office for his second term. How do you think his presidency has been for New Zealand?" In total, 44.4 percent of voters said the presidency had been bad for New Zealand, while 8.9 percent said it had been good. However, many do not have a view either way, with 35.8 saying they were neutral, while 10.9 percent said they did not know. Broken down to party allegiances, the gap between good and bad was even wider for Labour and Green supporters. Half of Labour voters said it had been bad, compared to 3.3 percent who said it was good. Almost 59 percent (58.7) of Green voters said bad, 4.8 percent said good. In April, Trump announced a 10 percent tariff on New Zealand goods , on top of existing tariffs. Officials swiftly worked to understand how the tariff was calculated, given New Zealand's rate is 1.9 percent. The government's response in the meantime has been to keep its head down, saying a trade war is in nobody's best interests. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the Trump presidency had not been good for small trading nations like New Zealand. "I think an international trade war between the US and China is bad for countries like New Zealand." Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said it was partly why the Greens had put together an industrial strategy. "To show that with the international headwinds being what they are, and Donald Trump's punitive tariff measures, that we can take steps locally to build our own economic resilience so that we're not relying on international shareholders, which seems to be the strategy of this government," she said. While 13.6 percent of Te Pati Māori voters said Trump had been good for New Zealanders, those who said he had been bad and those who were neutral were relatively evenly split. While more supporters of government parties also said the presidency had been bad for New Zealand than good, the gaps were tighter, with many also staying neutral. Of National voters, 8.4 percent said it had been good, but more were slightly more neutral than negative. A quarter of ACT supporters were positive, but the remainder were also closely split between bad and neutral. While more New Zealand First voters said bad than good - 28 percent vs 22 percent - the majority take a neutral view. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The party is vowing to 'Make New Zealand First Again'. But leader Winston Peters is also the Foreign Affairs minister - and on this, he's also staying neutral. "I'm the foreign minister. I don't talk about other countries' politics, particularly when doing so might harm our country's trading interests," he said. The Prime Minister was also staying diplomatic. "Look, it's not for me to say. I'm just focused on what New Zealand needs to do to sail its boat in what are more turbulent waters, for sure, to make sure that we can realise all the great potential we have in this country. That's what we're focused on," Christopher Luxon said. This poll of 1008 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 23-30 May 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The report is available here . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Legal expert weighs in on Michael Forbes allegations
crime politics 27 minutes ago The Prime Minister has ordered a review of vetting processes for parliamentary staff after his Deputy chief press secretary quit following allegations he recorded intimate audio of sessions with sex workers and was in possession of intrusive photos of women. Dozens of photos and footage were found on the staffers phone and some appear to have been recorded in public places and shot through windows at night. The police investigated a complaint in July last year and spoke to Michael Forbes, but said the case was filed because it didnt meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. So what are laws and do they go far enough to protect victims? Senior lecturer in law at AUT Paulette Benton-Greig spoke to Lisa Owen.
